Bumi, the Indonesian coal miner founded by Nathaniel Rothschild, asked for trading in its shares to be suspended while it awaits an investigation into $38m (£25m) of unaccounted funds meant to be paid in compensation to Borneo landowners.

The FTSE-250 company, which has been dogged by a very public battle for control between Rothschild and his co-founders, Indonesia's powerful Bakrie family, asked for its shares to be suspended until a whistleblower's claims over irregular payments have been fully audited.

"Verifying the balance sheet is a necessary step to rebuild investor trust and to achieve that a temporary suspension in trading is required," he said. "It is critical that Bumi is able to draw a line under any historic issues before we move ahead with our clear strategy for value optimisation focused on Berau [the Borneo coalmine in which Bumi holds an 85% stake]."

The scandal-hit company, which had already been twice forced to delay its financial results due to the allegations of irregular payments, said trading in its shares would have to be suspended because it would not be able to publish its results before a City regulator deadline at the end of the month.

Bumi said it was working closely with its auditors PwC and has also hired Ernst & Young to "provide expertise and resources to expedite the process in order to ensure that all legacy issues are identified and disclosed".